Grinch'-like behavior by Pa. woman ends with jail term

NORRISTOWN — A Hatfield woman who prosecutors say acted like the ‘Grinch’ when her husband didn’t give her the Christmas gifts she expected, is headed to jail for menacing the man with a butcher knife during a quarrel about his gift choices.

Karen Pilat, 51, formerly of the 2400 block of Merel Drive, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to six days to 23 months in the county jail on a misdemeanor charge of simple assault in connection with the Dec. 25, 2011, argument with her husband inside the Hatfield home they once shared. Judge Garrett D. Page said Pilat can serve the sentence over the course of three consecutive weekends beginning April 19.

“She had an expectation of what gifts she would like for Christmas. She didn’t get what she had expected or what she wanted and it turned her into essentially the ‘Grinch’ on steroids. She really was an abomination,” alleged Assistant District Attorney Cara McMenamin, who sought jail time against Pilat. “Poor Christmas gift choices are not a reason to go on this kind of a rampage. She ruined Christmas for her family.”

The judge also ordered Pilat to complete 50 hours of community service as a condition of the sentence.

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By convicting Pilat of simple assault during a non-jury trial last December, the judge determined Pilat did attempt by physical menace to put her husband in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.

With a split verdict, the judge acquitted Pilat of a charge of recklessly endangering another person, determining she didn’t place her husband in danger of death or serious bodily injury with her conduct.

During the trial, the victim testified Pilat expected jewelry and a card expressing his love for her for Christmas. Instead, the victim gave Pilat an artistic tile and a Bonsai or bamboo plant. An argument ensued about 11 p.m. Christmas night, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Hatfield Township Police Officer Patrick M. Hanrahan.

“She was so out of control on that day. It must have been truly horrific on that Christmas Day. It was extremely serious and a very dangerous situation,” McMenamin said about Pilat’s anti-holiday spirit. “She could have gotten up and walked out. She could have just not spoken to him for a few days. But you don’t start screaming out of control and come at someone with a knife because you didn’t get what you want for Christmas.”

Pilat, who was represented by defense lawyer Richard D. Winters, is prohibited from having any contact with her estranged husband. The couple is reportedly involved in divorce proceedings.

“There will be no more gifts, no birthday gifts, no anniversary cards, no flowers and no more Christmas presents. She is to have no contact with him, period,” McMenamin reiterated the judge’s warning.

The victim testified the incident was upsetting and embarrassing and disrupted the lives of him and his children.

“Her total lack of remorse indicates if she’s in a bad situation again and it’s emotionally volatile, I could see her acting out again,” said McMenamin, arguing Pilat showed no remorse and is deserving of jail time.

The victim testified at trial he picked up a cell phone to call police during the disturbance and that Pilat went to the kitchen and retrieved a butcher knife with which she threatened him before grabbing the cell phone from him.

Pilat didn’t deny being upset about her husband’s gift choices but denied threatening him with the knife. At trial, Pilat said the gifts she received were more appropriate for one of the couple’s children.

Pilat claimed she retrieved the knife, which she primarily used to cut vegetables, with the plan to flatten the tires of her husband’s car when he threatened to leave her. Pilat claimed she couldn’t puncture the tires so she went back inside the home and had the knife in her left hand behind her back. She claimed she saw her husband on the phone and grabbed the phone from him with her right hand.

When police arrived at the home, after the victim called 911, they noticed the victim had a small cut near his ear, according to testimony.

At trial, the victim testified he believed the cut could have come from the knife, but the judge determined there was not sufficient evidence to prove the cut was from the knife. The victim apparently did not require any medical treatment.

Pilat claimed she never intended to harm her husband with the knife and didn’t know how he sustained the cut.

But McMenamin argued Pilat’s “consciousness of guilt” was evident by the fact she hid the knife in a trunk in the bedroom and barricaded herself in the bedroom by pushing a dresser in front of the door when police asked her to exit the bedroom. Police had to force the door open to take Pilat into custody, according to testimony.

About the Author

Carl Hessler Jr. writes about crime and justice at the Montgomery County Courthouse for The Mercury and 21st Century Media Newspaper’s Greater Philadelphia area publications. A native of Reading, he studied at Penn State University and Kutztown University before graduating from Alvernia University with a degree in communications. He is a recipient of a National Headliner Award and has been honored for his writing by the Keystone Press Association, Philadelphia Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Associated Press Managing Editors of Pennsylvania. Reach the author at chessler@pottsmerc.com
or follow Carl on Twitter: @MontcoCourtNews.